Effect of contrasting climates on antioxidant and bioactive constituents in five medicinal herbs in Western Himalayas

To understand the effect of climate change on constitutive antioxidant and biochemical metabolites in Western Himalayas, five medicinal herbs were selected and grown at two altitudes in Jammu(305 m) and Srinagar(1730 m) with subtropical and temperate climates, respectively.Significant variations were observed in phenols and flavonoids in Hypericum perforatum L., Matricaria chamomilla L., Thymus vulgaris L., Cynara cardunculus L. and Echinacea purpurea L. growing at two locations. High altitude temperate site show variable(up to 13 fold) increase in their content.Proteins(1.3- 1.8 times), sugars(2.8- 4.1 times) and free amino acid(1.04- 1.22 times) were also higher at Srinagar(1730 m). Within these plants, H.perforatum and M. chamomilla have shown higher accumulation of phenols, xanthophylls and proline even at subtropical environment in Jammu(305 m)suggesting potential for increasing their geographical area. The results demonstrate that changing environmental conditions significantly affect the bioactive constituents, which accumulate as a defence strategy by these temperate plants. Their medicinal significance during climate change scenario has also been discussed.

Identification of QTLs for Yield and Associated Traits in F_(2) Population of Rice

Identification of quantitative trait loci(QTLs)controlling yield and yield-related traits in rice was performed in the F_(2) mapping population derived from parental rice genotypes DHMAS and K343.A total of 30 QTLs governing nine different traits were identified using the composite interval mapping(CIM)method.Four QTLs were mapped for number of tillers per plant on chromosomes 1(2 QTLs),2 and 3;three QTLs for panicle number per plant on chromosomes 1(2 QTLs)and 3;four QTLs for plant height on chromosomes 2,4,5 and 6;one QTL for spikelet density on chromosome 5;four QTLs for spikelet fertility percentage(SFP)on chromosomes 2,3 and 5(2 QTLs);two QTLs for grain length on chromosomes 1 and 8;three QTLs for grain width on chromosomes1,3 and 8;three QTLs for 1000-grain weight(TGW)on chromosomes 1,4 and 8 and six QTLs for yield per plant(YPP)on chromosomes 2(3 QTLs),4,6 and 8.Most of the QTLs were detected on chromosome 2,so further studies on chromosome 2 could help unlock some new chapters of QTL for this cross of rice variety.Identified QTLs elucidating high phenotypic variance can be used for marker-assisted selection(MAS)breeding.Further,the exploitation of information regarding molecular markers tightly linked to QTLs governing these traits will facilitate future crop improvement strategies in rice.